How
to Maintain Waxless Skis (Part 1)

So
you've decided to embrace Indiana winters and you've bought a pair of
waxless cross country skis. Maybe you have even used them,
out of
the box, with no thought of ski preparation. If so, you're not
alone. But you have probably been frustrated many times,
wondering why your skis are slow in cold snow, and sluggish in warm
snow. And why in the world are they picking up huge clumps of
snow and ice when the sun is out?

You're probably reading this
because you now realize that a "waxless" ski is not a maintenance free
ski! In fact, only a third of the ski is truly
waxless. A
waxless cross country ski uses a "fishscale" pattern in the middle
third of the ski, instead of "kick wax" (soft wax that grips the snow),
for providing traction (friction) when pushing your skis forward. This
saves the regular chore of choosing and applying a temperature specific
grip-wax to the kick-zone of the ski. But it does not save
you
from applying "glide wax" to the remainder of the ski. Once
you
have gotten the hang of applying glide wax, and begin to realize what a
big difference it makes in performance, you will wonder how you went so
long without it, and the small time sacrifice will seem well worth it.

Glide wax is applied to the front and rear portions of the
ski. These are the portions of the ski that are always in
firm
contact with the snow. Due to the camber (vertical curve) of
cross country skis, the kick-zone, has very little contact with the
snow surface until you shift your weight for kicking. As
such,
the glide portions of your ski are critical in determining how fast and
efficient your glide will be.

The base of your ski is
made out of soft, porous polyethylene plastic which actually absorbs
the wax during the application process. In effect, the wax is
"conditioning" the ski base, and preparing your skis for the type of
snow you anticipate encountering. Most wax companies sell a minimum of
three hardnesses of glide wax, the hardest for cold, new snow, and the
softest for warm, wet snow. Often, the middle hardness of wax
will be considered a "universal" wax and give you good performance
throughout a variety of snow temperatures and ice crystal
structures. If you are new to skiing, or don't want to re-wax
for
changing conditions, this "universal" wax is probably your best choice.

The
"structure" of the waxed base can be complicated and involved, but a
basic understanding will help you wax your skis with higher performance
results. Structure is the term used to describe the nearly
microscopic "smoothness" or "groove-ness" of the waxed base.
In
some snow conditions, a smooth base will cause the skis to glide more
efficiently, and in other conditions, micro-grooves patterned with a
specific bristle brush will give you the best glide.

The glide of your ski is affected by two primary forces: friction
with snow crystals and suction with water. A cold temperature
snowfall produces "dry" snowflakes, which have a sharp crystal
structure that slows the ski by embedding or grinding into the ski's
base. As cold snow ages, sublimation (evaporation of ice
without
melting) causes the ice crystals sharp edges to becomes more
smooth. When snow temps reach around 15 degrees F, the
friction
between the ski and the snow melts the ice crystals, creating an ultra
thin layer of water that the ski slides on. At around 26
degrees
F, the friction begins creating too much water and suction dramatically
slows the motion of the ski.

Hard wax for cold temps
improves your glide by resisting the ability of the ice crystals to
embed in the base of the ski. Additionally, a smoother, more
polished structure will minimize the surface area of the base that has
friction with the ice crystals. And if temps are just warm
enough
for the friction to produce a small amount of melt-water (15 F), then a
smoother structure will create a better ratio of surface area to
available melt water for the ski to glide on. As the temps
warm,
ice crystals and the friction they produce become less of a threat then
excess water which causes suction. In these warmer snows (26
F),
good structuring with the appropriate brass and nylon brushes will
increase the surface area, helping to disperse the water and reduce
suction.

Okay, so that may be more than you wanted to
know! The most important thing is that your ski bases need
the
wax for protection, for resisting friction with snow crystals, and for
repelling water to produce maximum glide. And, yes, the
performance of your skis will be significantly better.
AK